Colorado grocery workers joined labor advocates and elected officials outside Denver city hall on Monday to rally against a proposed $24.6 billion merger between the nation’s two largest supermarket chains,

Kroger will face off with regulators over its embattled proposed merger with Albertsons – this time against Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.

The event lined up with the start of a trial between the state of Colorado and grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, which are pushing to merge.

The third trial challenging the proposed Kroger, Albertsons merger began Monday in a Denver district court, but the case differs from separate lawsuits brought by the Federal Trade Commission and the Washington attorney general as it seeks $1 million each in civil penalties from the two grocers.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser held a virtual media briefing Thursday to provide an update on the lawsuit looking to block the potential merger between grocers Kroger and Albertsons. The challenge brought forth by Weiser follows two other lawsuits in Oregon and Washington State claiming a merger between the two would

This story by Lindsey Toomer appeared on Colorado Newsline on September 26, 2024. Workers and community members form a picket line outside a Denver King Soopers, after United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 began a strike over stalled labor negotiations on Jan. 12, 2021. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)

The trial for the case brought forth by Colorado against the parent companies who run King Soopers and Safeway stores across the state will begin on Monday — marking the start of the third trial attempting to block the proposed $25 billion deal.

On Monday, the CEOs for Kroger and Albertsons were pushed, and pushed back, over whether the two grocery retailers need to merge.

Community Voices Opinion Regarding the Kroger-Albertsons Merger Trial. Some community members have different views regarding the outcome.